The White Dress
by Feral Phoenix
Summary: Serene goes for a walk while waiting for news on the next adventure, and sees something that turns her world upside down. [SxF. Twoshot, for omegadestroyer7. Thank you so much for your support of The Tainted!]
1. Serene

The White Dress

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Riviera. This twoshot is for _omegadestroyer7, _the 100th reviewer of The Tainted. Thank you so much for all your support! I couldn't have done it without you!

It's another beautiful day in Elendia as we wait for the time when we'll head out to our next destination.

This village is filled with kind people, and lovely scenery. With each day that passes by, it feels more and more like a "home" to me, as if to replace the one I can't go back to. I miss the brightly-starred nights and thick pine forests of my homeland, and it's hard to get used to the change in diet from fish to foraged fruit and greens, but… autumn in Elendia is a spectacle. The trees are a brilliant blaze of color, like Mother Nature's own fireworks display.

It's really… a beautiful thing.

Everyone is so kind… so careful not to bring up Rosalina, avoiding the subject as if they're walking around a pit of ashes that they think might have a few live sparks still buried inside. To say that it's not a painful topic would be a lie. Soon I'll need to talk about it. But in moments like these, where it all still seems so distant from me, the way they behave is both endearing and almost funny.

I'm an active person. Waiting around tends to bore me. I like being able to do things with my hands to while the hours away. And when there isn't, all that falls to me is to roam the confines of this little village, and breathe the autumn air.

And so, that's what I do.

There's a light breeze that teases my short hair out of order, buffeting my wings. Leaves that have already fallen from the trees swirl and dance along the path. The sight makes me smile. It's cool but not cold, although it'll probably start to get chilly in a few weeks—less, maybe.

A heavy flapping sound reaches my ears, a sound that's familiar but isn't anything I can identify. Curious, I move closer.

Through the trees, I see the swell of a grassy hill, and as I draw closer to it, the flapping sound gets louder. That's when I notice the colors—squares of pink, pale blue, yellow, and white dancing between the branches heavily, making the sound.

Laundry. That's what it is—someone's setting the laundry on the line, and because it's still wet, the noise it makes as the wind pushes at it is a lot stronger than usual. I can hear someone's voice—Fia's, I think—singing softly as if for entertainment, and move closer, raising one hand in a greeting and getting ready to call out and say hello, maybe offer to help.

And then she comes into view.

It's what she's wearing that makes something in my belly turn over, a not-quite-queasy pull like the drop when you jump down a tall flight of stairs. It's a dress, a simple white dress, but it must be wet or made out of gauze because she's barely even haloed by the sun and I can practically see right through it, to a dark, haze-edged impression of her lithe body against the frosty white of the fabric.

She's smiling, half-dancing, pulling clothes and sheets out of the basket at her feet to throw them over the line. And as I stand there gaping at her with my hand still halfway in the air like a complete fool, she lifts out the heavy comforter to one of the beds in her house, and flings it up with an effort. As she does, there's a slight gust through the trees, sending her hair—and her skirt—flying straight up.

I close my mouth, lower my hand, and swallow hard.

Now I _definitely _don't want to go up there, because that little flippy feeling in my belly has spread and gone hot and I can't get the image of what I've seen out of my mind.

Before Fia can take notice, I about face and flee.

This—this is a complication that I can't deal with right now.

**TBC**


	2. Fia

The White Dress

See disclaimer in part 1

It's safe to say that I was feeling a little bit capricious when I headed out to put the laundry up as part of my morning chores.

Why else—when this is just an ordinary day—would I have reached for that particular dress hanging in my closet instead of something more sensible, more work-friendly?

Even though it's vain of me, I like to think the dress is my best, the most flattering on me, and I love the feel of the soft gauzy fabric against my skin, the way it breathes so well and lets the chill of the wind play across my body.

And I'm not so naïve that I don't know full well the effect the dress can have on others, if I wear it into the open sunlight.

As I said, I'm sure it was a matter of caprice. A mere whim. A desire to look pretty where there was no danger of a fight or a fall or some other minor disaster to destroy my clothing.

But life has been well known for playing tricks on us like that.

I saw Serene's approach, saw her stop at a point where I knew she could see me clearly. Saw her expression change from open and friendly to bewildered, saw something dangerous flicker in her eyes before she blushed and turned and bolted.

Like I said—I didn't intend to put on a show, and I certainly didn't mean for the wind to blow when it did. It was… a shameful display that I could've avoided if my better nature had prevailed that morning and allowed me to dress more civilly.

But worse, since then I've been having strange thoughts and feelings whenever I'm around Serene. Thoughts I've never had for anyone before in my life. When I come near her, my heartbeat starts to race and I start to wonder what she thought before she left, what that glint in her eyes could have meant and if it implied what I think it did. I start to wonder what it would be like to be in a relationship, to be touched… to be loved.

My options are limited. Ein has told us that we're going to be leaving for Tetyth, our next destination, in a day. I have no idea what dangers we'll be facing there, but I do know that there will be dangers. When demons are involved, there always are… you never know what could happen.

And so, it's clear what I have to do.

"I shouldn't have told her" is a far better regret to have than "I should have told her", after all… isn't it?

Before I can stifle my courage with doubts, I don the dress and pull my hair loose, and head out to the Grove of Repose. Serene is there, debating with herself to the crisp autumn air.

She turns and sees me; I stand still, my hands at my sides to prevent a repeat of my prior performance.

We stare at each other.

I close my eyes and sigh. One of us must end the impasse.

"What do you feel," I ask slowly, "when you look at me?"

**:For **_**omegadestroyer7. **_**Thank you so much for helping The Tainted break one hundred reviews!:**

**Owari.**


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